


Pride and Joy

by infinitegraces



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, Gen, Post-Mockingjay, Tumblr: promptsinpanem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 03:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5032555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinitegraces/pseuds/infinitegraces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One mother’s thoughts about the evolution of her family in a post-Rebellion world. (Written for Prompts in Panem, Round 8, Day 4.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pride and Joy

**Author's Note:**

> The main Sin in this one is meant to be Pride, however I could probably argue for there being underlying Sloth and maybe Envy themes as well.

  
Katniss could count on one hand the number of times her mother had been back to District Twelve in the years since the Rebellion. This included the current visit, the fourth one to be exact.  
  
The first time had been five years after. Mrs. Everdeen had received a phone call not from Katniss, but from Peeta. He had one thing on his mind, and she was the only person who could make it happen.  
  
"I know she'll deny it if I ask her, but I really think it would mean a lot to Katniss if you were here. Annie's bringing Dylan, and Johanna is coming also, so you wouldn't have to travel alone," Peeta had told her. By the time he'd realized that he hadn't actually told her what was going on, she had already figured it out. They were getting married, something Katniss had stubbornly insisted she'd never do.  
  
From the welcome she'd received on her arrival, it was clear that her daughter and her new son-in-law had grown back together. The way they worked together to prepare dinner, not carrying on a lot of conversation but somehow knowing when the other needed something, it reminded her of how she had been with her own husband.  
  
She hadn't been able to stay but a couple days that time.  
  
The second and third times had been ten and fifteen years after the end of the Rebellion, coinciding with the arrivals of her grandchildren. Those trips had each been a little longer, and planned in advance with Katniss herself.  
  
"I still don't trust easily, you know," her daughter had told her. "There's nobody I'd rather have here for this than you, Mom."  
  
So not only had she been present for Willow and Rye's births, she had been the only person Katniss would even consider letting deliver the babies.  
  
With Willow's birth, it was hard to miss the effect just holding the baby had on Katniss.  
  
"I was scared when I was carrying you." It wasn't something she'd ever admitted before now. "I'm sure your father knew, but that's only because he could read me so well. Somehow, he was always there when I needed him most."  
  
Katniss smiled, looking down at Willow where she was feeding. "After all that happened with the Quell and the Rebellion, I think I understand why you fell apart after Dad died. I resented you before my first Games, but I just didn't understand.  
  
"I never wanted to love anyone that way, but we can't help it, can we? The people we love, they have a tendency to sneak up on us, I guess you could say."  
  
"Your father did with me. His singing voice didn't hurt, but it took me time, especially after Haymitch's Games and losing one of my best friends."  
  
Rye's delivery was much easier, even with Willow's constant bouncing. They'd finally convinced her to stay in one place, but she still couldn't contain her obvious excitement at becoming a big sister.  
  
"Is the baby here yet?" she kept asking.  
  
When he'd finally arrived, she calmed down quite a bit. It helped that Peeta knelt down in front of her and explained that mommy was tired and little brother was small like one of Willow's dolls so she had to be extra careful and not too loud.  
  
Mrs. Everdeen watched her granddaughter enter the room, holding her dad's hand. Willow climbed onto the bed alongside Katniss, taking care to not disturb the baby. She cuddled up against her mother, peering at her baby brother's face. Peeta joined them after a moment, repositioning Willow onto his lap so he could also wrap his arm around his wife's shoulders.  
  
"Mom? Will you take a picture of us? The camera is in the top drawer of the dresser there behind you."  
  
That had been five years ago now, and as she sat on their back porch in Victor's Village, Mrs. Everdeen couldn't help but marvel at her daughter and son-in-law as they played with their kids. Katniss and Peeta had survived so much at such young ages and could very well have given up on life. Without each other, they probably would have. But they hadn't.  
  
She turned the page of the photo album, gazing upon the picture she'd taken the day of Rye's birth. In it, Katniss held Rye in her right arm, his head nestled in the crook of her elbow. Peeta still had Willow, who had decided to give her little brother a very gentle kiss on the top of his head. The proud parents watched over their children with gentle smiles on their faces.  
  
To an outsider, the picture was the representation of the perfect family. Mrs. Everdeen knew they were far from perfect, though. No family was.  
  
Instead, they were a happy family. And she couldn't have been more proud of them. 


End file.
